Zion in the Midst of Babylon
Elder David R. Stone
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the cultural influences that shape our preferences and behaviors, highlighting the differences he observed while living in 10 different countries.
Our culture tends to determine what foods we like, how we dress, what constitutes polite behavior, what sports we should follow, what our taste in music should be, the importance of education, and our attitudes toward honesty. It also influences men as to the importance of recreation or religion, influences women about the priority of career or childbearing, and has a powerful effect on how we approach procreation and moral issues. All too often, we are like puppets on a string, as our culture d ... (continued)
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Zion in the Midst of Babylon
Elder David R. Stone
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker describes the peaceful silence within the Manhattan temple, contrasting it with the noisy New York streets, and relates it to the concept of creating Zion within the walls of Babylon.
My involvement with the building of the Manhattan temple gave me the opportunity to be in the temple quite often prior to the dedication. It was wonderful to sit in the celestial room and be there in perfect silence, without a single sound to be heard coming from the busy New York streets outside. How was it possible that the temple could be so reverently silent when the hustle and bustle of the metropolis was just a few yards away? The answer was in the construction of the temple. The temple wa ... (continued)
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Zion in the Midst of Babylon
Elder David R. Stone
- Of the Seventy
📅 0
📖 general conference
Daniel and his companions, despite being captives in Babylon, refused to eat the king's meat and drink his wine, staying true to their beliefs and being blessed with knowledge and wisdom by the Lord.
When, about 600 years B.C., Nebuchadnezzar came from Babylon and conquered Judah, he carried away the people of the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar selected some of the young men for special education and training. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were to be the favored ones among the young people brought to Babylon. The king"™s servant instructed them that they were to eat of the king"™s meat and drink of the king"™s wine. Let us clearly understand the pressures that the ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reminisces about President George Albert Smith's influence on his life, including visits to his parents' home during his childhood.
President George Albert Smith was close to me, he always seemed to be around for some of the important events of my life. I appreciated sincerely his confidence and love, and I rejoice that it was he who called me to this present assignment. As a boy, I remember his coming into my father's and mother's home to attend quarterly conferences representing the General Authorities of the Church. And as I relive those occasions, I rejoice in the goodly effect that he had upon my life. He was loved by a ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on the seamless transition and continuation of the Church's general conference despite the passing of President George Albert Smith.
As I have thought about the past three days and all that has taken place, my testimony has increased in relation to the work we are engaged in. All plans have gone forward for this great general conference of the Church. And almost on the eve of the conference meetings, the Lord took from us our beloved President. At first there was a great feeling of loss, but I don't think ever a feeling of frustration, for the Quorum of the Twelve realized that vested within them were all the powers, authorit ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares an experience of a young lady missionary who felt the Spirit of the Lord working with her, emphasizing the importance of the Holy Spirit in Church callings.
Not so long ago in attending a conference, I heard a young lady missionary in making her report say that in her missionary experience she felt the Spirit of the Lord working with her. And I thought what a grand thing it would be if all people of the Church felt that in their callings and appointments the Spirit of the Lord was working with them. I am just as confident as I can be that regardless of our calling and appointments or holding the priesthood, we who are the men of the Church, that unl ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker expresses gratitude for being able to attend the conference despite a storm, and shares a humorous anecdote about a TV entertainer promoting dairy products, comparing the number of outlets for the priesthood meeting to the many outlets of the organization of dairy farmers.
I am very grateful that the Lord permitted our plane to land during the storm last night, just in time to get to that great priesthood meeting. As President McKay referred to the fact that seventy-one different gatherings were assembled last night, and that we had never had this many outlets for the general priesthood meeting, I thought of a rather humorous thing that was said by one of our national entertainers on TV, who is helping in a promotion program for greater consumption of dairy produc ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts his gratitude for the messages of the First Presidency and reflects on the importance of the home and family, expressing appreciation for his own family and the support of his wife.
I am grateful for the confidence and the love of my brethren and sisters in the Church. As I listened to that great message of the President this morning, a message which we all need in our homes, my heart filled with gratitude and thanksgiving that the Prophet of God could in very deed speak as one having authority on this very sacred and important subject of the home and family. I am grateful for my home and my family. I am grateful for my companion and for her inspiration, strength, and help. ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares his feelings of missing the close association with the General Authorities and expresses gratitude for the support he has received in his governmental and church responsibilities.
I thank the Lord for the opportunity that has been mine to associate with my brethren of the General Authorities. For nine glorious years I had almost daily association with them. The last two years I have been in their presence much less frequently, and I am sure they will never know fully how much I have missed the very close and intimate association of those earlier years. I am grateful for the faith and prayers of the Saints and for the support of good people everywhere in the responsibiliti ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker sends a message of love and prayer to President Cornelius Zappey, who is ill in the hospital, and reminisces about their time together in Holland after the war.
President McKay spoke of these wonderful mission presidents, and they are wonderful men. As he did so I thought of one who lies ill in a local hospital, whose illness I learned about since coming to this conference"”one with whom I had the great pleasure of walking the streets of Holland at the close of the war"”one of the most valiant. President Cornelius Zappey, (President Zappey passed away April 22, 1955. He was a former president of both the Netherlands and the East Central States Missi ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on his recent trip to eleven Latin American countries, discussing the purposes of the visit, his interactions with leaders and people, and the potential for the spread of the gospel in those nations.
In the last few weeks I have had the glorious privilege of visiting eleven of our Latin American countries. The visit was threefold in character. First of all, it was a response to invitations from leaders of those nations, particularly ministers of agriculture; it also provided opportunity to get better acquainted with their agriculture, and also to learn something of the results of the exports which we are making into those nations, of breeding stock, such as beef cattle, dairy cattle, hogs, p ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker shares his experiences of finding members of the Church in almost every nation he visited in Latin America and the positive impressions they have made, including interactions with government officials who spoke highly of the Church.
I was pleased, too, to find in the travels to these eleven countries, that our Mormon people are found in almost every nation. Generally speaking, they are giving a good account of themselves. I was pleased with the contacts I had with them. Beginning in Cuba, in our visit with the then President-elect, Batista, and continuing through ten other nations"”I was pleased that we had the opportunity to say something about the Church and explain the fundamentals of the gospel. Sister Benson is a mor ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker recounts the friendly reception he received from the press in Latin America and the opportunities he had to explain the Church's history, organization, and doctrine.
So, my brethren and sisters"”and I've not even mentioned Colombia"”it seems to me that we have a great opportunity now, as the Church moves out into the world. The Church has a wonderful reputation. It is well thought of. It is well-known. It is so important today that all of our people, whoever they are and whatever they are, live the gospel, that they keep the commandments of God. And if they are isolated, it is important that they arrange to hold services in their own homes, that they inv ... (continued)
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Zion Must Arise and Shine Forth
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
The speaker reflects on past experiences with small groups of Saints in isolated areas around the world and emphasizes the importance of remaining true and faithful to spread the gospel.
I remember, as you do also, occasions where we have met with just a handful of people in an isolated area, and how the Lord was there with his Spirit. I remember meeting the Saints, way up in Selbongen, East Prussia, right after the war and in isolated places in Holland. I remember meeting the Saints in Czechoslovakia, just small groups. How well I remember that meeting referred to by President Matis last night far up in Larsmo, Finland. It was a small, isolated group, but the Spirit of God was ... (continued)
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Zion Must Be Strengthened
Elder Harold B. Lee
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
An official from the United States Steel Corporation remarks that Welfare Square is a practical demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in aiding the needy.
As I have thought of those scriptures, I have remembered a statement that was made by an official of the United States Steel Corporation after I had spent an hour or two with him and his company of officials down at Welfare Square. He said to me, "This is a practical demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in giving aid to the needy and the less fortunate."
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Zion Must Be Strengthened
Elder Harold B. Lee
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A life insurance salesman shares a thought with Elder Lorenzo H. Hatch and the speaker that to stir a man into action, one should let him smell the flowers prepared for his own funeral service.
As we sit this morning with the present reminder of the hand of death, all of us moved with a common impulse of feeling toward our great leader, I have recalled a remark that was made to Elder Lorenzo H. Hatch and myself, as we waited down at Las Vegas, Nevada, a few weeks ago for a late, delayed train. We chanced to be in conversation with a life insurance salesman who is reputed to be one of the outstanding salesmen in America. He expressed a sentiment that has intrigued me, and I want to repe ... (continued)
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Zion Must Be Strengthened
Elder Harold B. Lee
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A young Latter-day Saint girl shares her testimony, recalling her father's words that if she fails, it reflects on the Church and their home.
A few weeks ago I sat in fast meeting in the South Eighteenth Ward (Salt Lake City) and heard a lovely girl in her mid-twenties stand to bear her testimony. It was a thrilling testimony of a beautiful Latter-day Saint girl. She told in her testimony about a morning out on the farm in a little country district where at four o'clock in the morning she went out with her father to milk the cows. And as the father and she went out towards the barn, her father took her by the hand and said, "My girl, ... (continued)
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Zion Must Be Strengthened
Elder Harold B. Lee
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
A Japanese missionary girl recounts her initial refusal to serve a mission due to her family not living the principles she would be expected to preach, leading to her father's commitment to live as his daughter would preach.
JAPANESE MISSIONARY GIRL
I heard a lovely Japanese missionary girl down at Kamuela on the island of Hawaii a few years ago make what I think was a personal application of that principle as it pertained to her home. There were few missionaries in that day, the war was not yet ended, and this young lady and her companion were two of the only four missionaries on that island. We had in the audience eighty-five United States marines, all Latter-day Saints, who were being trained there supposedly for ... (continued)
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Zion Must Be Strengthened
Elder Harold B. Lee
- Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
📅 0
📖 general conference
Susannah Wesley gives her son John Wesley a criterion to judge the lawfulness of pleasure, which can be applied to all affairs of life.
COUNSEL OF SUSANNAH WESLEY
A short while ago I read wise counsel from a lovely mother, Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley, famed in religious circles. This was what this lovely mother said to her son, which was a criterion by which he could judge right and wrong, in pleasure, and for that matter in all the affairs of life. These were her words:
Would you judge the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure? Then use this rule:
Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscien ... (continued)
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